The European Commission has announced that it will recommend the EU member states and the European Parliament to remove Moldova from the list of states that need visas for travelling to the EU. According to Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Natalia Gherman, the recommendation will be approved by the EU by the end of next March, IPN reports.
“The recommendation will be discussed in Vilnius. After the Eastern Partnership Summit, the European commission will officially transmit this recommendation to the EU member states and the European Parliament. The Parliament is to approve this recommendation by the end of March 2014 as an election campaign will start in the EU after that,” the minister said in the program “Replica” on Prime TV channel.
The Moldovan official considers that this is possible. “By the end of the current mandate of the European Parliament, the recommendation will be discussed. A special envoy will be sent and the MEPs will then adopt it. It will be an intense year as regards our European course. We are to sign the Association Agreement that envisions creating a Free Trade Area,” said Natalia Gherman.
She also said she does not consider that a certain EU member state will create impediments. “We engage in cooperation with all the states in a number of areas. For the time being, I saw only very cooperative attitude in support of Moldova. The objective we discussed with the European officials was to have the visa regime with the EU abolished in autumn. We were explained the final stages and we will focus namely on them,” stated Natalia Gherman.
The European Commission established that Moldova implemented the measures specified in the fourth report on the Visa Liberalization Plan of Action. Moldova reformed the Ministry of the Interior, continued the good judicial cooperation with the EU member states and the international police cooperation. Thus, the European Commission announced that immediately after the Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit, it will put forward a legislative proposal to abolish the visa regime for the Moldovan travelers.
